Aurora Black and the Prisoner of Azkaban
by moon.no.more
Summary: Aurora Black has always known who her father was, and over time, she's accepted it. Now Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban and is supposedly out to take her back. Aurora must use all the skills she knows to keep her friends and herself alive. Being a witch and a demigod isn't easy. Especially with a prophecy hanging over your head. Book 1 of the Aurora Black Series.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter I**_

 **Aurora**

Aurora rolled out of bed, just as the sun was peeking from behind her horizon and through the window.

Rolling out of bed proved difficult on the top bunk.

She let out a grunt as she landed on her stomach. Aurora shook it off and grabbed the box of wizarding sweets she had saved just for this occasion.

In the package there was: one box of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans, four Chocolate Frogs, Droobles Best Blowing Gum (which filled the room with blue bubbles that refused to pop for days), Pepper Imps (allowed you to breathe fire) and, of course, Cockroach Clusters.

Aurora just wished that Fred and George would finish their prank candies so that she could get some good pranks in.

Of course, Aurora didn't write a card, Jason would know who it was then, and he wouldn't open it.

She snuck across the cobbled road and onto the Fifth Cohort boys' barracks. Nobody was awake yet, thankfully. She placed the colorfully wrapped present at the foot of Jason's bed.

Aurora took a moment to admire him drooling onto his pillow. Jason had a sweet tooth, she knew from being his nemesis all her life. He wouldn't be able to resist.

That was really the only word that could describe them properly.

Aurora snuck back into her barrack's and waited…

The first thing that happened was gagging, then there was yelling 'The frogs are alive! The frogs are alive! Pop the bubbles! Stop breathing fire! No, Dakota stop! Those are cockroaches!'

Aurora grabbed her camera, ran across the path, swung the screen door open, and snapped the perfect picture.

Dakota was on the floor gagging, Jake was trying to hold onto a Chocolate Frog like a bar of soap, and Jason was breathing fire. All in the midst of dozens of blue bubbles floating around.

Breakfast was fun, seeing as Jason kept hiccuping fire, and everyone appreciated seeing the picture of the boys in their barracks.

Their little group of friends all sat around the same table. Jake, son of Apollo, Paige, daughter of Venus, Dakota, son of Bacchus, and Gwen, daughter of Mercury. Jason too, son of the almighty Jupiter and Aurora, daughter of Vesta.

Aurora ate a peanut butter and honey bagel with a banana and lots of coffee, while having animated conversation with Dakota.

"What were those things I ate?" he asked.

"Cockroach Clusters," Aurora replied, sipping her coffee.

"They were real cockroaches!"

"Yep."

The brown haired boy looked down at his food and didn't look very intent on eating any more.

"When are you leaving for London?" Gwen asked.

"In a few weeks."

"You'll stay for your birthday though, right?"Dakota asked.

"Of course, my birthday's tomorrow. Oh, by the way happy birthday, Grace."

"I've had enough birth-" Jason hiccuped a plume of fire "-day wishes from you."

They laughed. It was nice to laugh. Somedays Aurora didn't laugh enough.

Babe, Aurora's eagle, came soaring down from the sky, carrying a parcel.

Opening the box, Aurora found a letter.

 _Dear Aurora,_

 _Ron tried to call me on the phone the other day. Uncle Vernon picked up the phone, and Ron started yelling because he thought that we wouldn't be able to hear. It was terrible._

 _Anyway, happy birthday. I thought you'd like this._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Harry_

Below the letter was a framed picture of the two of them, both in their first Weasley sweaters in front of the Christmas tree in their first year.

They both smiled brightly, the picture didn't move, but it would've been nice if it did. Aurora wasn't sure how Harry had gotten his hands on this at the Dursley's, but she was grateful that he did, it was a wonderful gift.

Aurora stroked Babe's feathers.

"I can't believe you still call him Babe. It's a stupid name," Jason said.

"I can't believe you named him _Bambino_."

"It's a good name!"

"For a guy who's nickname is Babe."

"That's not the point!"

"It's the perfect point."

"You guys are going to be late for the senate meeting," Gwen warned them.

"Especially if Terminus gives you a hard time," Jake said.

"And he _always_ gives you a hard time," Paige finished.

Aurora cursed, bumping the table as she stood, and started running. Jason stood calmly, and followed after her.

"As clumsy as ever, huh, Sleeping Beauty?" Jason taunted as they ran through the red-roofed buildings.

"Shut up, Grace. It's not my fault everything gets in my way," Aurora cursed again as she stumbled on a rock, and went straight through a lare.

Jason laughed.

"I said shut up, Blondie."

"You curse like a sailor."

"Yeah I know that, now shut it."

 **Hi, it's taken** _ **so**_ **long to get this out. I got a chapter up, but then I realised there was a flaw in the plot so I had to fix that, and it resulted in changing the first book entirely. Sorry about that. Please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter II**_

 **Aurora**

A month later, it was time for Aurora to leave for Diagon Alley. She hated the goodbyes, and packing. Gods, she hated packing. She had slaved away the entire day before, packing as much as she could into her trunk in the room she shared with Gwen and Paige.

Aurora was exhausted, because every year the Fifth Cohort decided to throw her a 'surprise' party the night before she left.

The entire cohort came to see her off, along with Reyna, and the twins Mary and Julia.

Mary was the sweetest three year old Aurora had ever met, and that wasn't just because she practically worshipped the daughter of Vesta. Julia worshipped her the same way, but she had more of a prankster spirit.

"'Wowa! 'Wowa!" They shouted, their R's sounding more like W's, running to her in their matching dresses.

Blonde pigtails bounced identically.

Aurora scooped them up in her arms.

"What are you two up to?"

"Don't leave. Pwetty Pwease?"

"With a chewy on top!"

"Sorry, girls, but I've got to go! I'll come back with more magic spells to show you. Like this: Aguamenti!"

A jet of water streamed out of the tip of Aurora's wand so powerful it hit Jason in the back and sent him flying onto his face.

The girls giggled.

"AURORA!"

"Got to go, girls. Say hello to your brother for me."

"Mary! Julia!" Their brother found them from across the Forum. "Get back here! Did you want to play hide and seek just so you could say goodbye to Aurora?"

The girls hugged her once more, Julia ran back to her brother, but Mary stayed.

"Ba-bye 'Wowa."

"Goodbye, Mary. But only for a little while. I can't stay away from you for too long."

"Now, go back to your brother. Octavian wants to finish that game of hide and seek."

"Bye, 'Wowa!" The little girl said, running back to Octavian who scooped her up in his arms with a large smile, and walked away.

Aurora smiled. Mary and Julia were cute, they called Octavian Teddy because they couldn't pronounce his name right. He pretended to hate it, but Aurora knew he really loved it.

A sopping wet Jason came over to Aurora, each scrunch of his shoes made her laugh.

Jason got a devilish smile on his face, and wrapped his arms around Aurora in a big hug, lifting her up a bit.

"Let me down, Barbie!"

Jason carried her over to the hearth and set her down in front of it.

"Are you sure you aren't coming back for Christmas?" he asked. "It won't be the same without you."

"Are you saying you'll miss me?"

"Just your cooking."

"Maybe, if you're nice, I'll send you some of my gingerbread cookies."

"And if _you're_ nice, I might send you a present."

Aurora took out her last bit of Floo powder. She would have to buy more in Diagon Alley.

Aurora threw the powder into the hearth, waited until the flames turned green before stepping into the fire. It felt ticklish. "The Leaky Cauldron," she could hear the faintest shouts of farewell as the green fire engulfed her and swept her away.

Aurora closed her eyes, and waited until the unpleasant feeling passed.

When she opened her eyes she was greeted by Tom, the innkeeper. "I assume you'll be wanting a room."

"Yeah, thanks Tom." She brushed her wild black hair out of her face.

"Aurora!" Three very familiar voices shouted.

Aurora only got a flash of her three best friends before she was part of a four-person hug.

"Love you too, but I'm not breathing," after Hermione, Ron, and Harry let go of her, she let out a breath of air. She was home. Well, this was her more homier home. A Roman war camp wasn't exactly nourishing. "Now, how 'bout something sweet to eat."

Dinner that night was very enjoyable. After a full day of shopping for school supplies, Tom put three tables together in the parlor, and the seven Weasleys, Harry, Hermione and Aurora ate their way through five delicious courses.

"How're we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?" asked Fred as they dug into a sumptuous chocolate pudding.

"The Ministry's providing a couple of cars," said Mr. Weasley.

Everyone looked up at him.

"Why?" said Percy curiously.

"It's because of you, Perce," said George seriously. "And there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them-"

"-for Humongous Bighead," Fred said.

Everyone except Percy and Mrs. Weasley snorted into their pudding.

"Why are the Ministry providing cars, Father?" Percy asked again, in a dignified voice.

"Well, as we haven't got one anymore," said Mr. Weasley, "-and as I work there, they're doing me a favor."

His voice was casual, but Aurora couldn't help but noticing his ears had gone red, just like Ron's did when he was under pressure. She didn't' think it was just a favor anymore.

"Good thing, too," said Mrs. Weasley briskly. "Do you realize how much luggage you've all got between you? A nice sight you'd be on the Muggle Underground….You are all packed, aren't you?"

"Ron hasn't put all his new things in his trunk yet," Percy said in a long-suffering voice. "He's dumped them on my bed."

"You'd better go and pack properly, Ron, because we won't have much time in the morning," Mrs. Weasley called down the table. Ron scowled at Percy. "Have you been reading the Prophet much, Aurora dear?"

"Not at all, it doesn't come overseas." The table took to glancing at anyone other rather than her. "Why?"

"No reason," Mr. Weasley cut in. Aurora didn't believe them.

After dinner everyone felt very full and sleepy. One by one they made their way upstairs to their rooms to check their things for the next day. Aurora finally shut her trunk and decided she wanted one last snack from the bar before she went to bed.

She put her tight curls into a ponytail before heading down the stairs. Gwen always said she looked like some country singer she called T-Swizzle, but with black hair of course. Aurora had no idea who T-Swizzle was, but she assumed she was some kind of rapper.

Aurora was halfway along the passage to the bar, which was now very dark, when he heard another pair of angry voices coming from the parlor. A second later, she recognized them as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's'. Aurora snuck a bit closer when she stumbled on someone.

"Harry?" she whispered, after seeing a glare from a pair of round glasses.

The emerald-eyed boy clamped a hand over her mouth.

"...makes no sense not to tell them," Mr. Weasley was saying heatedly. "They've got a right to know. I've tried to tell Fudge, but he insists on treating Harry like a child. They're thirteen years old and-"

"Arthur, the truth would terrify him!" said Mrs. Weasley shrilly. "Do you really want to send them back to school with that hanging over them? For heaven's sake, he _happy_ not knowing!"

"I don't want to make them miserable, I want to put them on their guard!" retorted Mr. Weasley. "You know what Harry and Ron are like, wandering off by themselves-they've ended up in the Forbidden Forest! And Aurora's worse! She'll catch wind of his escape and she'll try to catch him herself! If I think what could've happened to Harry that night he ran away from home! If the Knight Bus hadn't picked him up, I'm prepared to bet he would have been dead before the Ministry found him."

"But he's _not_ dead, he's fine, so what's the point-"

"Molly, they say Sirius Black's mad, and maybe he is, but he was clever enough to escape from Azkaban, and that's supposed to be impossible. It's been a month, and no one's seen hide nor hair of him, and I don't care what Fudge keeps telling the _Daily Prophet_ , we're no nearer to catching Black than inventing self-spelling wands, the only thing we know for sure is what Black's after-"

"But Harry will be perfectly safe at Hogwarts."

"We thought Azkaban was perfectly safe. If Black can break out of Azkaban, he can break into Hogwarts."

"But no one's really sure that Black's after them-"

There was a thud on wood, and Aurora was sure that Mr. Weasley had banged his fist on the table.

"Molly, how many times do I have to tell you? They didn't report it in the press because Fudge wanted to keep it quiet, but Fudge went out to Azkaban the night Black escaped. The guards told Fudge that Black's been talking in his sleep for a while now. Always the same words: 'They're at Hogwarts...they're at Hogwarts.' Black is deranged, Molly, and he wants Harry dead. If you ask me, he thinks murdering Harry will bring You-Know-Who back to power. Black lost everything the night Harry stopped You-Know-Who, and he's had twelve years alone in Azkaban to brood on that…."

"What about Aurora? What does he have against her?"

"Every man wants to see their daughter, even a madman. I think he's come to take her away, right after he kills Harry."

There was a silence. Harry and Aurora leaned closer to the door, desperate to hear more.

"Well, Arthur, you must do what you think is right. But you're forgetting Albus Dumbledore. I don't think anything could hurt them at Hogwarts while Dumbledore's headmaster. I suppose he knows about all this?"

"Of course he knows. We had to ask him if he minds the Azkaban guards stationing themselves around the entrances to the school grounds. He wasn't happy about it, but he agreed."

"Not happy? Why shouldn't he be happy, if they're there to catch Black?"

"Dumbledore isn't fond of the Azkaban guards," said Mr. Weasley heavily. "Nor am I, if it comes to that...but when you're dealing with a wizard like Black, you sometimes have to join forces with those you'd rather avoid."

"If they save Harry and Aurora-"

"-then I will never say another word against them," said Mr. Weasley wearily. "It's late, Molly, we'd better go up…"

Aurora heard chairs move. As quietly as they could, they hurried down the passage to the bar and out of sight. The parlor door opened; and a few seconds later footsteps told Aurora that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were climbing the stairs.

Harry grabbed Ron's bottle of rat tonic from under the table then they both headed back upstairs with the bottle.

Aurora waited in Harry's room, chewing on the inside of her lips, waiting for him to get back from Ron and Percy's room.

Harry finally walked in the room.

"What are we going to do?" Aurora burst, although quietly, she was very conscious of the possibility of someone overhearing their conversation.

"Nothing, just act... _normally_."

"Have you met me? I am not normal," Aurora said hysterically.

"Normal for you at least. And the possibility of Black getting into the castle are-"

"Slim, yeah, got it. I just-"

"Finally getting over learning he's a murderer? And now he's out."

"Yeah, that," Aurora said. "I'm just gonna go get some sleep then."

"Yeah…" said Harry awkwardly.

"Goodnight."

"Night, 'Rora."

 ** _Finally,_** **I thought I'd never get that done. School started, and of course, my life went straight to hell after that. Hope you enjoyed it. I'll get the next one up as soon as possible, ASAP, lickety split, quick as a wink. Blah blah blah blah blah.**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter III**_

 **Aurora**

Harry woke Aurora up the next morning with his usual stupid grin and a cup of tea from Tom. After herding him out of the room, she got dressed.

With Babe, her messenger eagle perched on her shoulder, Aurora made her way down to breakfast where Mr. Weasley was reading the _Daily Prophet_ with a furrowed brow and Mrs. Weasley was telling Hermione and Ginny about a love potion she'd made as a young girl. All three of them were rather giggly.

Aurora immediately walked in the opposite direction. Giggly was an adjective that would never be used to describe the Roman legionary.

She quickly ate her breakfast. She couldn't speak to Ron, Harry, or Hermione in the chaos of leaving; they were too busy heaving all their trunks down the Leaky Cauldron's narrow staircase and piling them up near the door, with Babe, Hedwig, and Hermes, Percy's screech owl, perched on top in their cages. A small wickerwork basket stood beside the heap of trunks, spitting loudly.

"It's all right, Crookshanks," Hermione cooed to her new orange cat through the wickerwork. "I'll let you out on the train."

"You won't," snapped Ron. "What about poor Scabbers, eh?"

He pointed at his chest, where a large lump indicated that Scabbers was curled up in his pocket.

Mr. Weasley, who had been outside waiting for the Ministry cars, stuck his head inside.

"They're here," he said. "Harry, Aurora, come on."

With the two on either side of him, Mr. Weasley marched them across the short stretch of pavement toward the first of two old-fashioned dark green cars, each was driven by a furtive-looking wizard wearing a suit of emerald velvet.

"In you get, you two," said Mr. Weasley, glancing up and down the crowded street.

They got in the car and was soon joined by Hermione, Ron, and to Aurora's disgust, Percy.

Normally, Aurora wouldn't stand being treated like a package labeled _FRAGILE: HANDLE WITH CARE_ , but she liked Mr. Weasley far too much to insult him by being the demanding, mess of a girl she really was.

The journey to King's Cross was very uneventful. The cars from the Ministry of Magic seemed almost ordinary, though Aurora noticed that they could slide through gaps that Camp Jupiter's big black SUV's definitely couldn't. They reached King's Cross with twenty minutes to spare; the Ministry drivers found them trolleys, unloaded their trunks, touched their hats in salute to Mr. Weasley, and drove away, somehow managing to jump to the head of an unmoving line at the traffic lights.

Mr. Weasley kept close to Harry and Aurora all the way into the station.

"Right then," he said, glancing around them. "Let's do this in pairs, as there are so many of us. I'll go through first with Harry and Aurora."

Aurora rolled her eyes and tapped her foot, with ADHD, and the fear of being late to the train (all thanks to Dobby) was making her very impatient.

So impatient, that she walked straight through the barrier without a second thought to the efforts in stealth that Harry and Mr. Weasley were making.

For the first time that morning, Aurora smiled, seeing the scarlet red Hogwarts Express puffing smoke over a platform packed with witches and wizards seeing their children onto the train.

Harry and Mr. Weasley suddenly appeared behind her, followed by a panting Percy and Ginny.

"Ah, there's Penelope!" said Percy, smoothing his hair and going pink again. Ginny, Harry, and Aurora caught each other's eyes, and they all turned away to hide their laughter as Percy strode over to a girl with long, curly hair, walking with his chest thrown out so that she couldn't miss his shiny badge.

Once the remaining Weasleys and Hermione had joined them, Harry and Ron led the way to the end of the train, past packed compartments, to a carriage that looked quite empty. They loaded the trunks onto it, stowed Hedwig and Crookshanks in the luggage rack, then went back outside to say goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

Mrs. Weasley kissed all her children, then Hermione and Harry, then Aurora. She rarely got hugs so kind as the ones Mrs. Weasley gave.

"Do take care, won't you?" she said as she straightened up, her eyes oddly bright. Then she opened her enormous handbag and said, "I've made you all sandwiches….Here you are, Ron...no, they're not corned beef….Fred? Where's Fred? Here you are, dear…."

"Harry, Aurora," said Mr. Weasley quietly, "come over here a moment."

He jerked his head toward a pillar, and the two followed him behind it, leaving the others crowded around Mrs. Weasley.

"There's something I've got to tell you before you leave-" said Mr. Weasley, in a tense voice.

"It's all right, Mr. Weasley," said Harry. "We already know."

"You know? How could you know?"

"We-er-we heard you and Mrs. Weasley talking last night. I couldn't help hearing," Harry added quickly. "Sorry-"

"That's not the way I'd have chosen for you to find out," said Mr. Weasley, looking anxious.

"No-honestly, it's alright. We would have found out anyway. Someone was bound to tell us," Aurora said.

"And this way you haven't broken your word to Fudge."

"You two must be very scared-"

"I'm not," said Harry sincerely. " _Really_ ," he added, because Mr. Weasley was looking disbelieving. "I'm really not trying to be a hero, but seriously, Sirius Black can't be worse than Voldemort, can he?"

Mr. Weasley flinched at the sound of the name but overlooked it.

"And you, Aurora? Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm stronger than I look."

"Both of you are, apparently. I'm obviously pleased you're not scared but-"

"Arthur!" called Mrs. Weasley, who was now shepherding the rest onto the train. "Arthur, what are you doing? It's about to go!"

"They're coming, Molly!" said Mr. Weasley, but he turned back to them and kept talking in a lower and more hurried voice. "Listen, I want you to give me your word-"

"-that we'll be good and stay in the castle?" said Harry gloomily.

"Not entirely," said Mr. Weasley, who looked more serious than Aurora had ever seen him. "Swear to me you won't go _looking_ for Black."

"What?" Harry and Aurora said in unison.

There was a loud whistle. Guards were walking along the train, slamming all the doors shut.

"Promise me, Harry," said Mr. Weasley, talking more quickly still. "You too Aurora, that whatever happens-"

"Why would I go looking for someone who wants to kill me?" said Harry blankly.

"Swear to me that whatever you might hear-"

"Arthur, quickly!" cried Mrs. Weasley.

Steam was billowing from the train; it had started to move. Harry ran to the compartment door, dragging Aurora along by the hand, Ron threw it open and stood back to let them on. They leaned out of the window and waved at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley until the train turned a corner and blocked them from view.

"I need to talk to you in private," Harry muttered to Ron and Hermione as the train picked up speed.

"Go away, Ginny," said Ron.

"Oh, that's nice," said Ginny huffily, and she stalked off.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Aurora set off down the corridor, looking for an empty compartment, but all were full except for the one at the very end of the train.

This had only one occupant, a man sitting fast asleep next to the window. They checked on the threshold. The Hogwarts Express was usually reserved for students and they had never seen an adult there before, except the witch who pushed the food cart.

The stranger was wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard's robes that had been darned in several places. He looked ill and exhausted. Though quite young, his light brown hair was flecked with gray.

"Who d'you reckon he is?" Ron hissed as they sat down and slid the door shut, taking the seats the farthest away from the window.

"Professor R. J. Lupin," whispered Hermione at once.

"How d'you know that?"

"It's on his case," she replied, pointing at the luggage rack over the man's head, where there was a small battered case held together with a large quantity of neatly knotted string. The name _Professor R. J. Lupin_ was stamped across one corner in peeling letters.

"Wonder what he teaches?" said Ron, frowning at Professor Lupin's pallid profile.

"That's obvious," whispered Hermione. "There's only one vacancy, isn't there? Defense Against the Dark Arts."

The four of them had already had two Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, both of whom had lasted only one year. There were rumors that the job was jinxed.

"Well, I hope he's up to it," said Ron doubtfully. "He looks like one good hex would finish him off, doesn't he? Anyway…" He turned to Harry and Aurora. "What were you going to tell us?"

Harry began explaining all about Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's argument and the warning Mr. Weasley had just given him. When he'd finished, Ron looked thunderstruck, and Hermione had her hands over her mouth. She finally lowered them to say, "Sirius Black escaped to come after _you_? Oh...you'll have to be really, really careful. Don't go looking for trouble-"

"I don't go looking for trouble," said Harry, nettled. "Trouble usually finds _me_."

Aurora took out her sandwich Mrs. Weasley had packed. "I don't like trouble either, but I believe trouble fancies me a bit."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"How thick would they have to be, to go looking for a nutter who wants to kill them?" said Ron shakily.

They were taking the news worse than Aurora had expected. Both Ron and Hermione seemed much more frightened of Black than she was.

"No one knows how he got out of Azkaban," said Ron uncomfortably. "No one's ever done it before. And he was a top-security prisoner too."

"But they'll catch them, won't they?" said Hermione earnestly. "I mean, they've got all the Muggles looking out for him too…."

"What's that noise?" Aurora asked.

A faint, tinny sort of whistle was coming from somewhere. They all looked around the compartment.

"It's coming from your trunk, Harry," said Ron, standing up and reaching into the luggage rack. A moment later he had pulled the Pocket Sneakoscope out from between Harry's robes. It was spinning very fast in the palm of Ron's hand and glowing brilliantly.

"Is that a _Sneakoscope_?" said Hermione interestedly, standing up for a better look.

"Yeah...mind you, it's a very cheap one," Ron said. "It went haywire just as I was trying it to Errol's leg to send it to Harr."

"Were you doing anything untrustworthy at the time?" said Hermione shrewdly.

"No! Well...I wasn't supposed to be using Errol. You know he's not really up to long journeys...but how else was I supposed to get Harry's present to him?"

"Stick it back in the trunk," Harry advised as the Sneakoscope whistled piercingly, "or it'll wake him up."

Harry nodded toward Professor Lupin. Ron stuffed the Sneakoscope into a particularly horrible pair of Harry's uncle's old socks , which deadened the sound, then closed the lid of the trunk on it.

"We could get it checked in Hogsmeade," said Ron, sitting back down. "They sell that sort of thing in Dervish and Banges, magical instruments and stuff. Fred and George told me."

"Do you know much about Hogsmeade?" asked Hermione keenly. "I've read it's the only entirely non-Muggle settlement in Britain-"

"Yeah, I think it is," said Ron in an offhand sort of way, "but that's not why I want to go. I just want to get inside Honeydukes!"

"What's that?" said Hermione.

"It's this sweet shop,' said Ron, a dreamy look coming over his face, "where they've got _everything_ ….Pepper Imps-they make you smoke at the mouth-and great fat Chocoballs full of strawberry mousse and clotted cream, and really excellent sugar quills, which you can suck in class and just look like you're thinking what to write next-"

"But Hogsmeade's a very interesting place, isn't it?" Hermione pressed on eagerly. "In _Sites of Historical Sorcery_ it says the inn was the headquarters for the 1612 goblin rebellion, and the Shrieking Shack's supposed to be the most severely haunted building in Britain-"

"-and the massive sherbet balls that make you levitate a few inches off the ground while you're sucking them," said Ron, who was plainly not listening to a word Hermione was saying.

Hermione looked around at Harry and Aurora.

"Won't it be nice to get out of school for a bit and explore Hogsmeade?"

"'Spect it will," said Harry heavily. "You'll have to tell me when you've found out."

"What d'you mean?" said Ron.

"I can't go. The Dursleys didn't sign my permission form, and Fudge wouldn't either."

Ron looked horrified.

" _You're not allowed to come?_ But-no way-McGonagall or someone will give you permission-"

Harry gave a hollow laugh. Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House, was very strict.

"-or we can ask Fred and George, they know every secret passage out of the castle-"

"Ron!" said Hermione sharply. "I don't think Harry should be sneaking out of school with Black on the loose, at least with Aurora they know she's there and will be able to look out for her."

"Actually, I'm not able to go either," Aurora said.

"What? Why not?" Ron asked.

"I don't exactly have a parent, or a legal guardian to sign for me anyway."

The Hogwarts Express moved steadily north and the scenery outside the window became wilder and darker while the clouds overhead thickened. People were chasing backward and forward past the door of their compartment. Crookshanks had settled in an empty seat, his squashed face turned toward Ron, his yellow eyes on Ron's top pocket.

At one o'clock, the plump witch with the food cart arrived at the compartment door.

"D'you think we should wake him up?" Ron asked awkwardly, nodding toward Professor Lupin. "He looks like he could do with some food."

Hermione approached Professor Lupin cautiously.

"Er-Professor?" she said. "Excuse me-Professor?"

He didn't move.

"Don't worry, dear," said the witch as she handed Harry a large stack of Cauldron Cakes. "If he's hungry when he wakes, I'll be up front with the driver."

"I suppose he _is_ asleep?" said Ron quietly as the witch slide the compartment door closed. "I mean-he hasn't died, has he?"

"No, no, he's breathing," whispered Hermione, taking the Cauldron Cake Harry passed her.

He might not have been very good company, but Professor Lupin's presence had its uses. Midafternoon, just as it had started to rain, blurring the rolling hills outside the window, they heard footsteps in the corridor again, and their three least favorite people appeared at the door: Draco Malfoy, flanked by his cronies, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.

Draco Malfoy and Harry had been enemies ever since they had met on their first train journey to Hogwarts, and therefore, Aurora and Draco were also sworn enemies. Malfoy had a pale, pointed, sneering face, was in Slytherin House; he played Seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch team, the same position that Harry played on the Gryffindor team, the same position that Harry played on the Gryffindor team. Crabbe and Goyle seemed to exist to do Malfoy's bidding. They were both wide and muscled; Crabbe was taller, with a pudding-bowl haircut and a very thick neck; Goyle had short, bristly hair and long, gorilla like arms.

"Well, look who it is," said Malfoy in his usual lazy drawl, pulling open the compartment door. "Potty and the Weasel."

Crabbe and Goyle chuckled trollishly.

"I heard your father finally got his hands on some gold this summer, Weasley," said Malfoy. "Did your mother die of shock?"

Ron stood up so quickly he knocked Crookshanks' basket to the floor. Professor Lupin gave a snort.

"Who's that?" said Malfoy, taking an automatic step backward as he spotted Lupin.

"New teacher," said Harry, as he and Aurora got to their feet, in case Harry needed to hold Ron back, and Aurora needed to punch Malfoy because Harry was holding Ron back.

"What were you saying Malfoy?" Aurora asked. "Something that further proves your foolishness?"

Malfoy's pale eyes narrowed; he wasn't fool enough to pick a fight right under a teacher's nose.

"C'mon," he muttered resentfully to Crabbe and Goyle, and they disappeared.

The three sat down again, Ron massaging his knuckles.

"I'm not going to take any crap from Malfoy this year," he said angrily. "I mean it. If he takes one more crack about my family, I'm going to get hold of his head and-"

Ron made a violent gesture in midair.

"Ron," hissed Hermione, pointing at Professor Lupin, "be _careful_ …"

But Professor Lupin was fast asleep.

The rain thickened as the train sped yet farther north; the windows were now a solid, shimmering gray, one that matched Aurora's silver eyes. Soon it grew so dark that the lanterns flickered to life all along the corridors and over the luggage racks. The train rattled, the rain hammered, the wind roared, but still, Professor Lupin slept, like all of Camp Jupiter after War Games.

"We must be nearly there," said Ron, leaning forward to look past Professor Lupin at the now completely black window.

The words had hardly left him when the train started to slow down.

"Great," said ROn, getting up and walking carefully past Professor Lupin to try and see outside. "I'm starving. I want to get to the feast…."

"We can't be there yet," said Hermione, checking her watch.

"So why're we stopping?"

The train was getting slower and slower. As the noise of the pistons fell away, the wind and rain louder than ever against the windows.

Harry, who was nearest the door, got up to look into the corridor. All along the carriage, heads were sticking curiously out of their compartments.

The train came to a stop with a jolt, and distant thuds and bangs told them that luggage had fallen out of the racks. Then, without warning, all the lamps went out and they were plunged into total darkness.

"What's going on?" said Ron's voice from behind Aurora.

"Ouch!" gasped Hermione. "Ron, that was my foot!"

Harry felt his way back to his seat, next to Aurora.

"D'you think we've broken down?"

"Dunno…"

There was a squeaking sound, and Harry saw a dim black outline of Ron, wiping a patch clean on the window and peering out.

"There's something moving out there," Ron said. "I think people are coming aboard…."

The compartment door suddenly opened and someone fell painfully over Harry and Aurora's legs.

"Sorry-d'you know what's going on?-Ouch-sorry-"

"Hullo, Neville," said Harry, pulling Neville up by his cloak.

"Harry? Is that you? What's happening?"

"No idea-sit down-"

There was a loud hissing and a yelp of pain; Neville had tried to sit on Crookshanks.

"I'm going to go and ask the driver what's going on," came Hermione's voice. Harry felt her pass him, heard the door slide open again, and then a thud and two loud squeals of pain.

"Who's that?"

"Who's _that_?"

"Ginny?"

"Hermione?"

"What are you doing?"

"I was looking for Ron-"

"Come in and sit down-"

"Not here!" said Harry hurriedly. " _I'm_ here!"

"Ouch!" said Neville.

"Quiet!" said a hoarse voice suddenly.

Professor Lupin appeared to have woken up at last. Harry could hear movements in his corner. None of them spoke.

There was a soft, crackling noise, and a shivering light filled the compartment. Professor Lupin appeared to be holding a handful of flames. They illuminated his tired, gray face, but his eyes looked alert and wary.

"Stay where you are," he said in the same hoarse voice, and he got slowly to his feet with his handful of fire held out in front of him.

The door slid slowly open before Lupin could reach it.

Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in Lupin's hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. Harry's eyes darted downward, and what he saw made his stomach contract. There was a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, grayish, slimy, and scabbed, like something dead that had decayed in water.

But it was visible only for a split second. As though the creature beneath the cloak sensed Aurora's gaze, the hand was suddenly withdrawn into the folds of its black cloak.

And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew a long, slow, rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings.

An intense cold swept over them all. Aurora felt her own breath catch in his chest. The cold went deeper than her skin. It was inside her chest, inside her very heart.

There was a rushing in Aurora's ears as though of water. She was being dragged down, the roaring growing louder.

And then, from far away, he heard a whisper, faint as a candle flame.

"I'll be back, dearest. Hold tight. I'll be back."

A baby cried. It got louder and louder until it was impossible to ignore.

"Expecto Patronum!"

A brilliant blue light sprung from Professor Lupin's wand and chased the figure away. Once the room grew brighter and the air warm again, Lupin turned to Aurora, a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah fine but-Harry!"

Aurora dropped down next to her dear friend and shook him. "Harry! Harry, wake up!"

Harry opened his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked nervously.

"Yeah," said Harry, looking quickly toward the door. The hooded creature had vanished. "What happened? Where's that-that thing? Who screamed?"

"No one screamed," said Ron, more nervously still.

Harry looked around at the bright compartment. Ginny and Neville looked back at him, both very pale.

"But I heard screaming-"

A loud snap made them all jump. Professor Lupin was breaking an enormous slab of chocolate into pieces.

"Here," he said to Harry, handing him a particularly large piece. "Eat it. It'll help."

Harry took the chocolate, but didn't eat it.

"What was that thing?" he asked Lupin.

"A dementor," said Lupin, who was now giving chocolate to the rest of them. "One of the dementors of Azkaban."

Everyone stared at him. Professor Lupin crumpled up the empty chocolate wrapper and put it in his pocket.

"Eat," he repeated. "It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me…"

He strolled past them, and with a lingering glance at Aurora, disappeared into the corridor.

"Are you sure you're okay, Harry?" said Hermione, watching Harry anxiously.

"I don't get it….What happened?" said Harry, wiping more sweat off his face.

"Well-that thing-the dementor-stood there and looked around (I mean, I think it did, I couldn't see its face)-and you-you-"

"I thought you were having a fit or something," said Ron, who still looked scared. "You went sort of rigid and fell out of your seat and started twitching-"

"And Professor Lupin stepped over you, and walked toward the dementor, and pulled out his wand," said Hermione, "and he said, 'None of us is hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go.' But the dementor didn't move, so Lupin muttered something, and a silvery thing shot out of his wand at it, and it turned around and sort of glided away."

"It was horrible," said Neville, in a higher voice than usual. "Did you feel how cold it got when it came in?"  
"I felt weird," said Ron, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably. "Like I'd never be cheerful again."

Ginny, who was huddled in her corner looking nearly as bad as Harry, gave a small sob; Hermione went over and put a comforting arm around her.

"But didn't any of you-fall of your seats?" said Harry awkwardly.

"No," said Ron, looking anxiously at Harry again. "Ginny was shaking like mad, though, and Aurora got this blank stare, like she might drop dead."

"I heard a baby crying," said Aurora.

Professor Lupin came back. He paused as he entered, looked around, and said, with a small smile, "I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know."

Aurora took a bite and felt the warmth spread from her heart to the tips of her fingers and toes.

"We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes," said Professor Lupin. "Are you alright, Harry?"

"Fine," Harry muttered, embarrassed.

They didn't talk much during the remainder of the journey. At long last, the train stopped at Hogsmeade station, and there was a great scramble to get outside; owls hooted, cats meowed, and Neville's pet toad croaked loudly from under his hat. It was freezing on the tiny platform; rain was driving down in icy sheets.

"Firs' years this way!" called a familiar voice. Harry, Ron, Aurora, and Hermione turned and saw the gigantic outline of Hagrid at the other end of the platform, beckoning the terrified-looking new students forward for their traditional journey across the lake.

"All righ', you four?" Hagrid yelled over the heads of the crowd. They waved at him, but had no chance to speak to him because the mass of people around them was shunting them away along the platform. Harry, Aurora, Ron, and Hermione followed the rest of the school along the platform and out onto a rough mud track, where at least a hundred stagecoaches awaited the remaining students, each pulled, Aurora could only assume, by something invisible to the other students, because no one had ever mentioned the large, bony, black horses that pulled the carriages.

The coach smelled faintly of mold and straw. Aurora had felt better since the chocolate, but still weak. Ron and Hermione kept looking at her and Harry as though frightened that they might collapse.

As the carriage trundled toward a pair of magnificent wrought iron gates, flanked with stone columns topped with winged boars, Aurora saw two more towering, hooded dementors, standing guard on either side. A wave of cold sickness threatened to engulf her again; she closed her eyes until they passed the gates. The carriage picked up speed on the long, sloping drive up the castle; Hermione was leaning out of the tiny window, watching the many turrets and towers draw nearer. At last, the carriage swayed to a halt, and Hermione and Ron got out.

As Harry and Aurora stepped down, a drawling, delighted voice sounded in their ears.

"You _fainted_ , Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually _fainted_?"

Malfoy elbowed past Hermione to block Harry and Aurora's way up to the stone steps of the castle, his face gleeful and his pale eyes glinting maliciously.

"Shove off, Malfoy," said Ron, whose jaw was clenched.

"Did you faint as well, Weasley?" said Malfoy loudly. "Did the scary old dementor frighten you too, Weasley?"

"Is there a problem?" said a mild voice. Professor Lupin had just gotten out of the next carriage.

Malfoy gave Professor Lupin an insolent stare, which took in the patches on his robes and the delapidated suitcase. With a tiny hint of sarcasm in his voice, he said, "Oh, no-er- _Professor_ ," then he smirked at Crabbe and Goyle and led them up the step into the castle.

"Just a little, mildly albino one," Aurora said, looking to Professor Lupin, who gave a poorly disguised snort of laughter.

Hermione prodded Ron in the back to make him hurry, and the four of them joined the crowd swarming up the steps, through the giant oak front doors, into the cavernous entrance hall, which was lit with flaming torches, and housed a magnificent marble staircase that led to the upper floors.

The door into the Great Hall stood open at the right; Aurora followed the crowd toward it, but had barely glimpsed the enchanted ceiling, which was black and cloudy tonight, when a voice called, "Potter! Granger! Black! I want to see the three of you!"

Harry, Hermione, and Aurora turned around, surprised. Professor McGonagall, Transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor House, was calling over the heads of the crowd. She was a stern looking witch who wore her hair in a tight bun; her sharp eyes were framed with square spectacles. Aurora fought her way over to her with a feeling of foreboding: Professor McGonagall had a way of making her feel like she must have done something wrong-and she usually had.

"There's no need to look so worried-I just want a word in my office," she told them. "Move along there, Weasley."

Ron stared as Professor McGonagall ushered Harry, Hermione, and Aurora away from the chattering crowd; they accompanied her across the entrance hall, up the marble staircase, and along a corridor.

Once they were in her office, a small room with a large, welcoming fire, Professor McGonagall motioned them to sit down. She settled herself behind her desk and said abruptly, "Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you were taken ill on the train, Potter."

Before Harry could reply, there was a soft knock on the door and Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, came bustling in.

Harry went red in the face. "I'm fine," he said, "I don't need anything-"

"Oh, it's you, is it?" said Madam Pomfrey, ignoring this and bending down to stare closely at him. "I suppose you've been doing something dangerous again?"

"It was a dementor, Poppy," said Professor McGonagall.

They exchanged a dark look, and Madam Pomfrey clucked disapprovingly.

"Setting dementors around a school," she muttered, pushing back Harry's hair and feeling his forehead. "He won't be the last one who collapses. Yes, he's all clammy. Terrible things, they are, and the effect they have on people who are already delicate-"

"I'm not delicate!" said Harry crossly.

"Of course you're not," said Madam Pomfrey absentmindedly, now taking his pulse.

"What does he need?" said Professor McGonagall crisply. "Bed rest? Should he perhaps spend tonight in the hospital wing?"

"I'm _fine_!" said Harry, jumping up.

Aurora crossed her arms, "Don't not go just because Malfoy was teasing you, Harry, you'll end up in the hospital wing anyway."

"I'm not-"

"Well, he should have some chocolate, at the very least," said Madam Pomfrey, who was now trying to peer into Harry's eyes.

"I've already had some," said Harry. "Professor Lupin gave me some. He gave it to all of us."

"Did he, now?" said Madam Pomfrey approvingly. "So we've finally got a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies?"

"Are you sure you're feeling all right, Potter?" Professor McGonagall said sharply.

" _Yes_ ," said Harry.

"And you, Miss Black?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Fine, but I wish people would stop calling me _Miss_ Black," said Aurora. "It makes me sound like a princess or something."

"Very well. Kindly wait outside while I have a quick word with Miss Granger about her course schedule, then we can go down to the feast together."

Harry and Aurora went back into the corridor with Madam Pomfrey, who left for the hospital wing, muttering to herself. They had to wait only a few minutes; then Hermione emerged looking very happy about something, followed by Professor McGonagall, and the three of them made their way back down the marble staircase to the Great Hall.

It was a sea of pointed black hats; each of the long House tables was lined with students, their faces glimmering by the light of thousands of candles, which were floating over the tables in midair. Professor Flitwick, who was a tiny little wizard with a shock of white hair, was carrying an ancient hat and a three-legged stool out of the hall.

"Oh," said Hermione softly, "we've missed the Sorting!"

Professor McGonagall strode off toward her empty seat at the staff table, and Harry, Hermione, and Aurora set off in the other direction, as quietly as possible, toward the Gryffindor table. People looked around at them as they passed along the back of the hall, and a few of them pointed at Harry.

Harry sat down next to Ron, and Hermione and Aurora seats across the table.

"What was that all about?" Ron muttered.

Harry started to explain, but at that moment the headmaster began to speak.

Professor Dumbledore, though very old, always gave an impression of great energy. He had several feet of long silvery hair and beard, half-moon spectacles, and an extremely crooked nose. He was often described as the greatest wizard of the age, but that wasn't why Aurora respected him. You couldn't help trusting Albus Dumbledore, and as Aurora watched him beaming around at the students, he felt calm for the first time since the dementor entered the train compartment.

"Welcome!" said Dumbledore, the candlelight shimmering on his beard. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…."

Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued, "As you will all be aware after the search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

He paused, and Aurora remembered what Mr. Weasley had said about Dumbledore not being happy with the dementors guarding the school.

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave the school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises-or even Invisibility Cloaks," he added blandly, and Aurora chuckled silently. "It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors," he said.

Percy, who was sitting a few seats down from Aurora, puffed out his chest again and stared around impressively. Dumbledore paused again; he looked very seriously around the hall, and nobody moved or made a sound.

"On a happier note," he continued, "I am pleased to welcome to new teachers to our ranks this year.

"First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was some scattered, rather unenthusiastic applause. Only those who had been in the compartment one the train with him clapped hard, Aurora among them. Professor Lupin looked particularly shabby next to all the other teachers in their best robes, though Aurora suspected that those shabby old things _were_ his best robes.

"Look at Snape!" Ron hissed across the table.

Professor Snape, the Potions master, was staring along the staff table at Professor Lupin. It was common knowledge that Snape wanted the Defense Against the Dark Arts job, but even Aurora, who hated Snape, was startled at the expression twisting his thin, sallow face. It was beyond anger; it was loathing. Aurora knew that expression only too well; it was the look Snape wore every time he set eyes on Aurora or Harry.

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued as the lukewarm applause for Professor Lupin died away. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than our own Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

Aurora jumped up in delight, already leading the applause. She looked up at Hagrid, who was ruby-red in the face and staring down at his enormous hands, his wide grin hidden in the tangle of his black beard.

"We should've known!" Ron roared, pounding the table. "Who else would have assigned us a biting book?"

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Aurora were the last to stop clapping, and as Professor Dumbledore started speaking again, they saw that Hagrid was wiping his eyes on the tablecloth.

"Well, I think that's everything of importance," said Dumbledore. "Let the feast begin!"

The golden plates and goblets before them filled suddenly with food and drink. Aurora, suddenly very hungry, helped herself to a large piece of everything.

It was a delicious feast; the hall echoed with talk, laughter, and the clatter of knives and forks. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Aurora, however, were eager for it to finish so that they could talk to Hagrid. They knew how much being a teacher would mean to him. Hagrid wasn't a fully qualified wizard; he had been expelled from Hogwarts in his third year for a crime he didn't commit. I had been the four of them to clear his name.

At long last, when the last morsels of pumpkin tart had melted from the golden platters, Dumbledore gave the word that it was time for them to go to bed, and they got their chance.

"Congratulations, Hagrid!" Hermione squealed as they reached the teacher's table.

"All down ter you four," said Hagrid, wiping his shining face on his napkin as he looked up at them. "Can' believe it...great man, Dumbledore...came straight down to me hut after Professor Kettleburn said he'd had enough….It's what I always wanted."

Overcome with emotion, he buried his face in his napkin, and Professor McGonagall shooed them away.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Aurora joined the Gryffindors streaming up the marble staircase and, very tired now, along more corridors, up more and more stairs, to the hidden entrance to Gryffindor Tower. A large portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress asked them, "Password?"

"Coming through, coming through!" Percy called from behind the crowd. "The new password's 'Fortuna Major'!"

"Oh no," said Neville Longbottom sadly. He always had trouble remembering the passwords.

Through the portrait hole and across the common room, the girls and boys divided toward their separate staircases. Aurora climbed the spiral stair absentmindedly as Hermione told her about her trip to the Smithsonian Museum.

"I met this group of kids, they said they were on their eighth grade field trip, some of them wore orange T-shirts, and the girls wore silver jackets. I asked them what 'Camp Half-Blood' meant, because that's what was on their shirts. They didn't answer, instead one of them asked me if I was dyslexic."

"Was that the most interesting part of your vacation?" Aurora asked.

"Sadly, yes. Although seeing all of the First Ladies' dresses was interesting, it's amazing that even though none of them were president, each of them did something to change the country, my favorite was Eleanor Roosevelt-"

Aurora started tuning out at that, all she could think about was how happy she was to be back.

 **There you go, at last a chapter. Super long, of course, I needed to make my mini-hiatus up to you. The next will be out sometime, I don't want to make any promises that have a high chance of being broken, so I'll promise you something else. I'll do it as quick as possible.**


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